Political career

1996 to 2008, while with the Indian National Congress party, he was nominated (elected by the State Legislature) to the Rajya Sabha in 1996 and 2002, and then by the BSP in November 2008. He served as Minister of State for Steel in the Manmohan Singh cabinet, but was dropped in April 2008 after it was discovered that he was parlaying with Mayawati for shifting to BSP.

One month after being dropped from the Union cabinet, he resigned from the Congress Party. Four days later he joined the BSP, which had been widely expected to do well in the elections. He was made the party's National General Secretary. Siraj Mehndi and some other supporters also switched to BSP along with him.